What to do if…
you have a joint that is suddenly hot, swollen, and painful

What to do now

1. Get urgent help today.

   • In England, call 111 or use NHS 111 online.
   • In Scotland, call 111 or use NHS 24.
   • In Wales, call 111 or use NHS 111 Wales.
   • In Northern Ireland, contact your GP, GP out-of-hours service, or your local emergency department if you suspect a joint infection.
   • If your GP practice is open and you can get through quickly, ask for an urgent same-day appointment.
   • Say clearly: “I have a sudden hot, swollen, painful joint.”

2. Use emergency help now if any red flag applies.

   • Call 999 if you feel very unwell, faint, confused, rapidly worse, or cannot travel safely.
   • Go to A&E or call 999 if you cannot walk or put weight on the joint.
   • Tell the call handler or clinician if you have a high temperature, feel hot, cold, or shivery, or the redness is spreading.
   • Tell them if the painful joint is a replacement joint, or if you recently had joint surgery, a joint injection, a skin break, a bite, or an infection elsewhere.

3. Protect the joint while you arrange care.

   • Rest the joint and stop the activity you were doing.
   • If it is a leg joint, avoid weight-bearing if you can.
   • If it is an arm, wrist, hand, or finger joint, support it in a comfortable position.
   • Remove rings, watches, tight shoes, or tight clothing near the swollen area early, before swelling increases.
   • If it helps, use a cool pack wrapped in cloth for 10–20 minutes at a time. Do not put ice directly on skin.

4. Gather the details you will be asked for.

   • Note when the pain and swelling started.
   • Note which joint is affected and whether it came on suddenly or overnight.
   • Take your temperature if you can do this without delaying help.
   • Write down any recent injury, bite, skin break, joint injection, surgery, infection, or new rash near the joint.
   • Have your medicines and key conditions ready, especially diabetes, immune-suppressing medicines, steroids, blood thinners, or a replacement joint.

5. Use pain relief cautiously while waiting.

   • If you can usually take it, consider paracetamol as directed on the packet.
   • Do not take more than the packet says.
   • Ask 111, your GP practice, a pharmacist, or the urgent-care clinician before taking ibuprofen or another anti-inflammatory if you have kidney disease, stomach ulcer or bleeding history, asthma made worse by anti-inflammatories, take blood thinners, are pregnant, or have been told to avoid them.